Not a Fan by Kyle Idleman

     When it comes to Jesus, are you a fan or a follower? According to Idleman, “Are you a follower of Jesus?” is the most important question you will ever answer. Many claim to be followers of Jesus. We point to our church attendance, tithing, charity work, etc., as proof. However, most would be surprised to find that when their lives are compared to Jesus’ own words, they are really nothing more than enthusiastic admirers. We believe that Jesus is the Son of God. We have accepted his work of salvation and follow the rules… but we don’t put Jesus first in our lives. We give ourselves to God on Sunday, and maybe a Wednesday, but there are things in our lives we won’t hand over to God. In “Not a Fan” Idleman explains how you can determine if you are a fan or a follower, and shows through scripture what it really means to be a follower of Jesus.

As someone who has claimed to be a follower of Jesus, this book both confirmed and convicted me. What really struck me about this book is that I’ve heard most of this before, but the presentation makes it hard to ignore. Idleman has found a way to lay this all out so that it can’t be misunderstood. He talks about the dangers of not presenting what it’s really like to be a follower of Jesus when sharing the gospel, or turning the church into a kind of Consumer Christianity. He discusses the connection between believing and doing (James 2:17). And it all comes back to Jesus’ words in Matthew 7:21-23. Everyone, especially those who call themselves Christian, should read this book.

1) Is it understandable? = 5
2) Presentation of Information = 5
3) Accuracy = 5
4) Quality of Writing = 5
5) Overall Enjoyability = 5

Average of  score 5
Overall grade = A

Check out the website.

Where to buy the book: CBD | Amazon | B&N

This was book 47 in my 52 Books in 52 Weeks challenge.

Book Giveaway: Following Jesus, the Servant King

 I’m giving away my copy of Jonathan Lunde’s Following Jesus, the Servant King. Check out the product page here. Read my review here.

The contest starts today and will end at midnight (Central time) on 5/13/11. I only have one copy of this book, so there will be only one winner chosen at random. I will post the winner after he/she has been notified.

I will personally be shipping the book directly to the winner, so I have to restrict entries to the 48 mainland states of the U.S.

To enter, simply reply to this post. What does it mean to follow Jesus? This contest is over. The winner will be announced soon.

Following Jesus, the Servant King by Jonathan Lunde

     What does it really mean to be a follower of Jesus? That’s the main question addressed in Lunde’s book, which is part of the Biblical Theology for Life series. He asks three questions:

1) Why should I be concerned to obey all of Jesus’s commands if I have been saved by grace?

2) What is it that Jesus demands of his disciples?

3) How can the disciple obey Jesus’ high demand, while experiencing his “yoke” as “light” and “easy”?

     Lunde begins working through these questions by going through the Old Testament covenants. He discusses how grace was involved in them, and the demands that were placed on the people involved in those covenants. He then discusses how Jesus has become the fulfillment of those covenants and the establishment of a New Covenant.

    What I liked about this book: I never really thought of discipleship as a form of covenant before, so that was enlightening and I got to see the Old Testament covenants in a new light.

     What I didn’t like about this book: Lunde has a tendency to use $10 words when a much simpler word could be used. I think I have a pretty decent vocabulary, but I had to grab the dictionary several times. It was distracting to have to keep stopping, especially since this is not a “light-reading” topic. Explanations also tended to be repetitive and wordy. The insets were also distracting: short paragraphs of about 3 or 4 sentences set off to the side of the page, sort of indented into the paragraph. Authors usually use these to highlight a piece of information in their book that they feel is important, putting it in sight for people who like to skim through books for main points. Lunde didn’t do that. Here they were used for additional pieces of information that went along with what he was saying. It was distracting to find a place where his train of thought paused so you could read those extras… and there were so many of them.

     Unfortunately, I had a hard time getting through this book, and I was really disappointed because the topic was interesting to me. The back cover says that the book is for “pastors, church leaders, students, and lay readers,” but I have to disagree. I think the average person isn’t going to make it through this book. I would recommend it for seminary teachers and students, and maybe pastors. Not lay readers.

I received a complimentary copy of this book for review purposes from Zondervan.

This was book 10 in my 52 Books in 52 Weeks challenge.